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Hi,
i am looking out for an algorithm to create triangular fans out of a simple concave polygon.
One option i could think of is looking out for the reflex vertices within the polygon (i.e the vertices that actually make the polygon concave) and then using this as the pivot construct triangular fans. However i do feel this might not be the most efficient way of doing it.
Is anyone aware of the other alternatives that i could use...
Cheers!
Sup

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A common technique, and your brief description sounds like this is what you plan to do, is called ear-clipping (with the caveat that oliii mentioned). I'll add that you will get better quality triangulations if when testing to see if an ear is an ear....look for ears that are "Delaunay" ears first, e.g., ears for which there is no other point inside the ear's circumcircle rather than ears for which there is no other point inside the ear itself. Only if you cannot find a Delaunay ear should you pick an ear that merely has no points inside the triangle. Er, a figure would help but I never have time to illustrate these ideas adequately. Just trust me, you'll get higher quality tessellations if you do as I suggest. Search on Delaunay and Circumcircle or circumscribed circle and hopefully a web site will pop up that clarifies, if any of this is unfamiliar to you.